Operation Backfire Operation Backfire, organized by the
British authorities immediately after the end of hostilities
in Europe, was designed to completely evaluate the entire
V-2 assembly, interrogate German personnel specialized in
all phases of it, and then launch several missiles across
the North Sea. Very thorough site. many images, maps.

Cuxhaven More basic account of the Cuxhaven test site
and British tests. See also the article on
Gerhard Zucker who first used Cuxhaven for rocket tests
in the 1930's.

Project Paperclip: Dark side of the Moon
Paperclip BBC overview of US mission to hire Nazi
scientists to lead pioneering projects, such as the race
to conquer space. Shows how these men provided the US
with cutting-edge technology which still leads the way
today, but at a cost.

Operation Paperclip Small site, well set out with
bios of key individuals and brief outlines of the forced
labour camps they used to develop their weapons under
the nazi's as well as where they later worked in the US.

Wanted: Hitler's Scientists Useful 1988 New York
Times review of the book on Operation paperclip The
Paperclip Conspiracy The Hunt for the Nazi Scientists
By Tom Bower. Provides a clear view into the process
used to collect up German scientists in 1945-6

The Zarya Web Site
Worthwhile site produced by UK astronomers with images,
accounts, diaries and fact sheets on the Soviet space. (use the
links in the side margine to find information). Includes space
programmes and space research undertaken by the Soviet Union
starting with Korolyov's R-7 rocket and Sputnik earth
satellites. ("Zarya" (Sunrise) was the radio call sign for the
Baikonur-based mission control when Yuri Gagarin went into
orbit.)

Soviet SpaceGood clear Powerpoint introduction of
Soviet Space success up to the mid 1960's. useful place to
start.

Sergei P. Korolev (1906-1966) Three bios of the man behind
the early Soviet space programme:

Russia launches world's first satellite Interesting
presentation of original news articles, easy to read and use,
from the Times with images and context pieces set out in the
form of a newspaper front page. (At the moment this is free
access but could change...). Sections of images, maps items on:
Sputnik; The Space Race and a picture
gallery.

Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age A basic NASA
account of how Sputnik led to the setting up of NASA, 1957-8. By
Roger D. Launius who also reveals
that the Soviets timed the launch to coincide with a party at
the end of an international scientific conference for maximum
impact.

A Blow to the Nation Detailed & useful
item examining the reaction of the US and arguing that National insecurity, wounded national pride, infighting,
political grandstanding, clandestine plots, and ruthless media
frenzy were but a few of the things the United States had to
overcome to bounce back from the blow dealt by SputniK.
Excerpted by PBS from the book Sputnik: The Shock of the Centuryby Paul Dickson

David Hoffman shares his Sputnik maniaFilmmaker David Hoffman shares
footage from his feature-length documentary Sputnik Mania, which
shows how the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik in 1957 led to
both the space race and the arms race -- and jump-started
science and math education around the world. The audio
commentary is very clear about the impact of Sputnik on the Cold
War. For once, the "comment" section is also useful concerning
the impact on people at the time.

Luna 1 (Mechta) 1959: First spacecraft to reach the Moon,
and the first of a series of Soviet automatic interplanetary
stations successfully launched in the direction of the Moon.
Clear NASA outline. See also:

Russian dogs in space Page of details on the Soviet dogs
sent to space (Lower down the page for space chimps - US flights
and lesser known space cats, France, and other creatures sent
into space.)

The Soviet Union’s first space survivors Russian TV news
item (2010) on Belka and Strelka - the two dogs who were onboard
the Sputnik-5 spacecraft when it broke into orbit on August 19,
1960, circled the Earth 17 times and returned home. Both
survived and the report tells how Mr K gave the daughter of the
US Mr K one as a gift.... Good footage and background
interviewing.

First man in space
Interesting presentation of original
news articles, easy to read and use, from the Times with images
and context pieces set out in the form of a newspaper front
page. (At the moment this is free access but could change...).
Sections of images, maps items on: Yuri Gagarin - the first man
in space; Propaganda Coup; An Instant
Hero and a Picture gallery: Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin death mystery solved after 40 years Daily
Telegraph 2010 article tells how the mystery surrounding Yuri
Gagarin's death in an aircraft crash more than forty years ago
may finally have been solved by a report which quashes decades
of conspiracy theories.

Vostok-1 Very useful site from russianspace.web giving
extensive detail about the flight & its background. Especially
strong on technical aspects. Good links in sidebars to further
info, images and documents. Well worthwhile visiting.

Roads In Space Notes of Soviet cosmonaut This is supposedly
Gagarin's own concise memoir published 1961 with sections on his
youth and the first space flight. In Russian but translates
easily and clearly using Google.

Vostok Wins the First Lap Clear account of the flight from
Nasa. Looks at the technicalities and draws comparisons with the
US Mercury programme. Diagram of orbital flight.

Vint Hill Cold War
MuseumUseful online museum that is easy to use
with links to virtual exhibits, overview articles, photo
galleries, documents, newsletters and many other collections of
cold war related material set out clearly by decade.

The Cold War Files Very good site produced by Wilson Center
for Peace for interpreting history of the Cold War through
Documents. Includes clear overview items on events and bios on
key figures.

European Navigator Useful
topic documents (speeches/actual agreements/ newspaper articles
& images on the post 1945 period from a west European
perspective. Use the " historical events" folder on the
left to find your area of study. Well produced by the European
Community.

The CAESAR, POLO, and ESAU Papers This thorough collection
of declassified analytic monographs and reference aids,
designated within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Directorate of Intelligence (DI) as the CAESAR, ESAU, and POLO
series, highlights the CIA's efforts from the 1950s through the
mid-1970s to pursue in-depth research on Soviet and Chinese
internal politics and Sino-Soviet relations. The documents
reflect the views of seasoned analysts who had followed closely
their special areas of research and whose views were shaped in
often heated debate.